I think we're going to be able to go to places this season that sitcoms aren't traditionally known to go, but without shattering any timber of the fourth wall or without devolving into conceptional cutesiness. I want to keep the world real and the characters real, while just striving to entertain on a level that only a drowning man might.

The second season of the television comedy series Community premiered on September 23, 2010 on NBC and aired on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET as part of Comedy Night Done Right. On March 5, 2010, NBC renewed Community for a second season.

The second season featured a stop-motion animated Christmas episode written by series creator Dan Harmon and Dino Stamatopoulos, who plays Star-Burns in the series. Harmon said, "There's a reason for it to be stop-motion animated, but it's not a dream. It still exists within the reality of the show."Guest stars in the second season of Community include Betty White in the season premiere as June Bauer, an anthropology professor. Drew Carey appeared in the second episode of the season as Ted, a feared patriarch from Jeff's old law firm, and Rob Corddry also appeared in the second episode as Alan, Jeff's best friend from his old law firm. Hilary Duff guest starred in the seventh episode as a "mean girl" who's a part of a clique that goes head-to-head with the Greendale study group.

On November 3, 2010, NBC ordered 2 additional episodes for the second season, bringing it to a total of 24 episodes.

Jeff and Britta engage in a dangerous game of relationship one-upmanship in response to Britta's embarrassing moment at the end of the previous school year, which could lead to the break up of the study group

Jeff blows off the study group and their break dancing competition to hang out with his old co-workers at the law firm. Annie tries to prove that Alan (guest star Rob Corddry) is the person who turned Jeff in and got him fired.

Pierce's religion convinces him that the spirit of his dead mother is captured in a cheap lava lamp, and Jeff has a crisis of faith when he learns he has high cholesterol. Meanwhile, Britta and Annie try to raise money for an oil spill.

Britta, Annie, and Shirley discover that Abed is skilled at insulting the mean girls, so they use him to their advantage. Meanwhile, Troy and Jeff find a secret garden with a trampoline, which they use for relaxation.

Dean Pelton tries to bust Jeff for a phony night school credit, but he only unveils a series of conspiracies, plots, and double-crosses between Annie, Jeff, and the Dean. Meanwhile, Troy and Abed build an elaborate blanket fort.

The group takes Troy out to a bar to celebrate his 21st birthday While they're there, Annie adopts a new identity, Abed is hit on by a guy, one of Shirley's darkest secrets is revealed, and Jeff and Britta fight over which of their bars is "cooler".

Valentine's Day finds Troy and Abed competing for the attention of an assistant librarian, and Britta tries to prove how progressive she is. Meanwhile, Jeff gets into a fight with the study group and takes a break from them.

Upset that he's not getting the respect he feels he deserves, Pierce claims that he is about to die and summons the study group to the hospital to bequeath personalized gifts unto them while Abed documents the entire event.

Anticipating a visit from the Vice President of the United States, Dean Pelton holds an election for student body president. An idealistic Annie decides to run, but Jeff decides to run against her to spite her and show how stupid politics can be.

When a beautiful woman rejects him in favor of Pierce, Jeff is convinced she must have ulterior motives. Meanwhile, Troy invents a painful childhood memory in order to attract Britta, and Abed feuds with his professor over "Who's the Boss?"

The study group assembles their twentieth- and final- Anthropology diorama of the year. When Troy's monkey reappears and subsequently disappears into a ventilation shaft, the group starts reminiscing about their year together.

The Greendale Campus becomes a battlefield again with the start of another paintball competition as a mysterious new player debuts. Before they can compete for the prize, however, the study group must deal with a more personal conflict first...